Spring has come to central Indiana.
The sun is shining, temperatures are becoming more mild and everything is turning green.
With the COVID-19 outbreak forcing all of us to stay at home, getting outside is the best remedy for any stir-craziness that people might be feeling. And with an excess of free time all of the sudden, one thing is clear.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
Now is the perfect time to start a garden.
“We all descend from farmers. Every one of us has a farming background in the family; it’s just a matter of how many generations do you have to go back. So it’s a great activity that ties us to our heritage, and binds all people together,” said Damian Stanziano, a Johnson County Master Gardener.
Longtime growers and gardening novices are finding refuge in the dirt this year in the midst of the pandemic. Even if you’ve never gardened before in your life, it can be an easy hobby to pick up, and with some tips from local gardening experts, anyone can do it.
Not only can you grow some of your own vegetables in your backyard, but being outside and connecting with nature is a great stress reliever during a stressful time.
“When you go out and digging in the soil, everything kind of falls away. You kind of get into the rhythm of the earth. I know that sounds kind of corny, but it’s really true. You notice things — things crawling in the ground, birds singing in the air, the rustling of leaves. It’s very relaxing, even if it’s hard work,” said Susan Lawson, a Greenwood resident and Master Gardener intern.
Lawson started gardening in the early 1990s, when she and her husband bought their first home. She started reading books and teaching herself, with the goal of growing mostly perennials with some vegetables as well.
As her family has downsized and moved to a smaller home, she has less room to grow her own plants. She had gone through the Master Gardener program previously, but her volunteer credits had lapsed. So she’s taking it again to earn that distinction, earning volunteer hours by helping her neighbors with their own gardens.
When she speaks with people, particularly those who have never started a garden before, she advises them to start small. She tells them to think about where to place the garden, in a place where it will get ample sunlight for growing. And she advises them to look for plants that are not too fussy or complicated.
“Look for easy things to grow. Stick with the basic things that you like to eat — tomatoes are pretty easy, lettuce can be very easy, peppers are pretty easy, things like that,” she said.
Because she has limited room, Lawson has been looking for varieties this year that she can plant in a pot on her patio. Vegetables such as cherry tomatoes and some peppers do very well in those conditions.
Backyard gardeners have a wealth of options of ways to plant, from a tilled-up bed in the ground to raised beds to something as simple as 5-gallon plastic buckets.
“A 5-gallon bucket will support a single tomato plant, so it’s really that easy,” said Linda Pfeiffer, a Trafalgar resident and Master Gardener.
Pfeiffer has been gardening since she was a child. Her family bought a greenhouse along Bluff Road on the southside of Indianapolis — an area with a heritage of horticulture — so she’s been immersed in it most of her life.
In her own home, Pfeiffer has raised beds that are on high legs, making it easier to work in the garden without stressing your back. The key component to her beds is the soil. To get the best out of your vegetables, she suggests combining the potting soil available to buy at home and garden stores with an additive such as compost or mushroom soil.
The added organic material will boost the growing potential of your garden, making for healthier plants.
“You can’t just use potting soil. That’s just peat moss, which is great to start flowers, but not to have something grow throughout the whole summer. You have to add something to it so it has some heft and some nutrition,” she said.
For Stanziano, gardening runs in the family. His grandfather was a horticulturist, and though he never met him, Stanziano would often listen to stories his father would tell him. That started the learning process and kept his interest, particularly as he planted his first vegetable garden as a youth in Akron, Ohio.
“I was fascinated with being able to produce your own foods,” he said “Back in the day, all of the neighbors had gardens too, so it really common to wake up in the morning and find zucchini or something sitting on the edge of the porch, because the neighbor had a few extra. So gardening was something that was all around me.”
Now a Master Gardener, Stanziano has retained that interest in growing his own vegetables. When giving advice to new gardeners, he likes to focus on vegetables because it can be an easy process.
When determining what to plant, Stanziano tells people to focus on salsa — or rather, the ingredients that go into salsa. Tomatoes, jalapeños, peppers and cilantro are all very easy to grow.
Something as simple as a few containers on the patio can yield a bounty of tomatoes, peppers, herbs and other items.
Garden supply stores will sell starters — shoots that are a few inches tall that have begun growing. Then, all the gardener needs to do is get them in the soil, Stanziano said.
“You don’t have this fragile period from seed to plant. They’re already ready to go,” he said.
With the garden planned and planted, the rest of your focus should be caring for the plants throughout the summer, until your harvest comes in. Weeding is important, as are protecting against pests. But the key is water.
Vegetables require regular watering, and in Indiana’s hot, dry summers, that probably means you’ll have to water the plants yourself, Pfeiffer said.
The best time to water is in the mornings, she said.
“The earlier in the day, the better. If you’re watering in the evening, the moisture can stay around the vines themselves, which can cause mold and other diseases,” she said. “You want to water earlier enough that the sun and wind can dry the water off those plants.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Starting a small garden” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
While people are sheltering in place and staying home, now is the perfect time to start a small vegetable garden. Here are some tips from the Purdue University Extension Service:
Site selection
Try to select a site that gets at least six hours of sunshine each day. A space along a garage or house can be useful.
Preparation
Decide which vegetables you want in the garden, learn how much space they will need and how many seeds or plants are necessary. Plan the garden on paper, so when it’s time to plant, you know exactly what to do.
Gather materials such as a spade or shovel, rake, hoe, garden hose or watering can, fertilizer, and seeds or plants.
Till, spade or plow the garden area to a depth of 6 to 8 inches. Remove all sod clumps, sticks, stones and other debris, then level the area with a rake.
Planting
Mark out seed and transplant rows with stakes so they are as evenly spaced as possible, as it looks better and allows for easier maintenance.
To prepare seed furrows, mark out each row with twine tied tightly between two end stakes. Follow the directions on the seed packet. Open the furrow to the proper depth with a hoe, and sow the seeds, spacing properly. Cover the seeds and lightly press the soil down.
Thin seed rows to their proper spacing when plants are 1 to 2 inches tall.
For transplants, plant at proper distances, and set all plants at the same level they were growing in the pot. Lightly firm the soil around the transplant and water in. Keep the plants well watered and protected from strong winds until well established.
Summer care
Supplement natural rainfall to supply 1 inch of water per week. Use soaker hoses, trickly irrigation tubes or sprinklers to soak the soil to depth of 6 to 8 inches.
Be sure to remove all weeds.
Check vegetables daily to detect and remedy insect disease problems promptly. Certain plants, such as cucumbers, melons and cabbage are more consistently pest-prone.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
